00:00Today on Rappler
00:06FIVOX raises the alert level of Mayon Volcano to alert level 2,
00:16indicating an increasing level of unrest.
00:19Taiwan President Lai Ching-te says the island is determined to defend its sovereignty
00:23following China's military drills.
00:25Internal documents from Meta show it is avoiding pressure from regulators
00:30to crack down on scammers as it keeps earning large revenues from scam ads.
00:35And U.S. President Donald Trump says he is withdrawing the National Guard
00:39from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland.
00:43The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raises the alert level of Mayon Volcano in Albay
00:49from alert level 1 to alert level 2 on Thursday, January 1.
00:53Alert level 2 indicates an increasing or moderate level of unrest.
00:57In a bulletin issued at 6 a.m. on New Year's Day,
01:00FIVOX says the upgrade means there is current unrest which could lead to a hazardous magmatic eruption.
01:05Rockfall incidents have been increasing with a total of nearly 600 incidents recorded from November to December.
01:11The single-day record for 2025 was logged on Wednesday, December 31 with a total of 47 rockfall events.
01:17FIVOX says increased rockfall was a sign of magmatic dome growth within the upper edifice preceding an eruption,
01:24similar to Mayon's unrest in 2023.
01:26State volcanologists remind the public not to enter the 6-kilometer radius permanent danger zone surrounding Mayon.
01:33FIVOX also advises local government units to prepare for possible evacuation.
01:37Taiwan President Lai Ching-te says the island is determined to defend its sovereignty and boost its defense in the face of China's increasing expansion.
01:47This after Beijing fired rockets towards the island and deployed a large number of warships and aircraft as part of its largest military drill around Taiwan to date.
01:55When asked about a U.S. report saying China was preparing to have the capability to win a fight for Taiwan by 2027,
02:02Lai says Taiwan must, quote,
02:03make plans for the worst but hope for the best.
02:06Taipei remains on high alert and condemns China's actions as a threat to regional security and a blatant provocation.
02:12China claims democratically govern Taiwan as its own territory and it has not ruled out using force.
02:19Internal documents from Meta show it has deliberately avoided being required by regulators
02:24to verify all advertisers on its platforms to weed out scams.
02:28Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has been found to earn large revenues from fraudulent advertisers.
02:34The documents reviewed by the Reuters news agency reveal the social media giant on several occasions opted not to run and spend on efforts
02:41that could have significantly decreased fraudulent advertising.
02:44Instead, it has focused on delaying action from state regulators by making efforts that only lessen the appearance of scams on its platforms.
02:51For instance, Meta team scrubbed its ad library database for scammers when it came under scrutiny from Japanese authorities.
02:57It then recommended this so-called playbook to its operations in other countries as an effective way to avoid having to verify all advertisers.
03:05This despite the fact that Meta was able to comply when Taiwan and Singapore required it to do so.
03:10Meta then reportedly recovered financial losses from such moves by redistributing banned ads to other locations with lower safeguards.
03:16The documents show Meta has refused to spend the $2 billion universal verification would cost despite earning over $164 billion last year.
03:26They also show Meta is aware that the majority of scam ads on its platforms come from unverified users.
03:31A spokesperson for Meta denied these allegations and said the company works earnestly to weed out scams and other harmful advertisements.
03:39U.S. President Donald Trump says his administration is withdrawing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland.
03:46Trump started deploying troops in June amid protests against his hardline immigration policies, including efforts to ramp up deportations.
03:54Local leaders and Democrats say the deployments, which have faced legal setbacks and challenges, were unnecessary.
03:59In a post on Truth Social, Trump says the federal forces will come back if crime rates were to go up again.
04:04Several courts have consistently ruled that the Trump administration overstepped its authority
04:09and found that there is no evidence to support claims that troops are necessary to protect federal property from protesters.
04:15The U.S. Supreme Court said the President's authority to take federal control of National Guard troops likely only applies in exceptional circumstances.
04:22And that's today's wrap. I'm JC Gutinga. Thank you for watching.
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